ACT - Piezo & MEMS Extension - Lecture

Piezo And MEMS
Mohamed.Senousy@ansys.com
David.roche@ansys.com
1 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

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Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
2 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezo And MEMS - Overview
• Name of the app: Piezo And MEMS

• Target application: Mechanical
• Description: Expose piezoelectric, thermal-piezoelectric and
thermal-structural solver capabilities
The version of the App and the supported versions of ANSYS are the
ones indicated on the App Store.

© 2018 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.
3 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

ACT App Store
• https://appstore.ansys.com/shop/ACTApps_act%20apps
• Great place to get started
− A library of helpful applications available to any ANSYS customer
− New apps added regularly
− Applications made available in either binary format (.wbex file) or binary
plus scripted format (Python and XML files)
− Scripted extensions are great examples
− Documentation and training materials available on the ANSYS Customer
Portal:
https://support.ansys.com/AnsysCustomerPortal/en_us/Downloads/AC
T+Resources
4 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Information
• Please pay attention to paragraph 9 of the CLICKWRAP SOFTWARE

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ACS EXTENSIONS regarding TECHNICAL
ENHANCEMENTS AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT (TECS): “TECS is not
included with the Program(s)”
• Report any issue or provide feedback related to this app please

contact:
Mohamed.senousy@ansys.com
5 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Binary App Installation (1)
Installing from the ACT Start Page:
1. From the project page, select the
“ACT Start Page” option
2. Click on “Extension Manager”
3. Press “+” symbol in the top right corner
4. It will open a file dialog to select the
appropriate “*.wbex” binary file
5. The extension is installed
Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose
‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded
Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
• Example for [version]: v180
6 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Installing from the Extensions menu:

1. From the Extensions menu, select the “Install
Extension…” option
2. It will open a file dialog to select the appropriate
“*.wbex” binary file
3. Click “Open” to install the extension
Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose ‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded
Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
7 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Once the binary extension is installed at default location, one can move the *.wbex and the folder to any
other location
– Default path: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
– New path: Any location on your machine, shared drive etc.
• All users interested in using the extension need to include that path in their Workbench Options
– In the “Tools” menu, select the “Options…”
– Select “Extensions” in the pop up panel
– Add the path under “Additional Extensions Folder …”
3
2
Define additional folders in which ACT
will search for extensions in order to
expose them in the Extension Manager
1
Notes:
• During the scan of the available extensions, the folders will be analyzed according to the following order:
1. The application data folder(e.g. %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions)
2. The additional folders defined in the “Additional Extension Folders” property
3. The installation folder
4. The “extensions” folder part of the current Workbench project (if the project was previously saved with the extension)
• If an extension is available in more than one of these locations, the 1st one according to the scan order is used
8 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
What is a Coupled-Field Element?
A finite element that couples the effects of interrelated

physics within the element matrices or load vectors, which
contain all necessary terms required for the coupled
physics solution.
• ANSYS Multiphysics coupled-field elements

• Strong (matrix) or weak (sequential) coupling
PLANE223 SOLID226 SOLID227

2-D 8-node 3-D 20-node brick 3-D 10-node
quadrilateral tetrahedron
9 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Applications
Piezoelectric
• transducers, resonators, sensors and actuators,
vibration control
Piezoresistive
• pressure sensors, strain gauges
Thermoelastic damping
• MEMS resonators
Electrostatic-Structural
• actuators, sensors, comb drives, accelerometers,
torsional micromirrors, gyroscopes
Coriolis effect
• quartz angular velocity sensors
10 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Strong (Matrix) Coupling
Finite element matrix equation:
K11 K12  X1 F1

K    = 
 21 K22  X2  F2 
The coupling is accounted for by the off-diagonal
matrices [K12] and [K21].
Provides for a coupled solution in one iteration.
Examples:
• Piezoelectric, Thermal- Piezoelectric
11 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Weak (Sequential) Coupling
Finite element matrix equation:
K11(X1
, X 2 ) 0  X1 F1 (X1, X 2 )
   = 
 0 K22 (X1
, X 2 ) X 2  F2 (X1
, X 2 )
The coupled effect is accounted for in the dependency of

[K11] and {F1} on {X2} as well as [K22] and {F2} on {X1}.
At least two iterations are required to achieve a coupled
response.
Examples:
• Piezoresistivity, Electrostatic-Structural
12 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Coupling Method by Analysis
KEYOPT(2) = 0 KEYOPT(2) = 1
Coupled-Field
Analysis Coupling Coupling
Analysis Type FE Matrix Analysis Type FE Matrix
Method Method
static, transient
Structural-Thermal strong nonsymmetric weak static, transient symmetric
modal, harmonic
Piezoresistive weak static, transient symmetric N/A
Electrostatic- static, transient,

strong symmetric N/A
Structural modal, harmonic
static, transient
Piezoelectric strong symmetric N/A
modal, harmonic
Thermal-Electric weak static, transient nonsymmetric N/A
symmetric
Structural- weak
static, transient nonsymmetric weak static, transient (if no
Thermal-Electric (Joule heating)
Seebeck)
Thermo- static, transient

strong nonsymmetric weak static, transient symmetric
Piezoelectric modal, harmonic
13 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezo & MEMS ACT Extension
14 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezo & MEMS ACT Extension
The Piezo & MEMS ACT Extension currently supports:

• 2D & 3D analyses
• Piezoelectricity, Thermal-piezoelectricity, Piezoresistivity,
Electrostatic-Structural, Thermo-structural, Structural-
thermoelectric
• Squeeze film fluid, Viscous link fluid, Slide film fluid
• Modal projection technique
15 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectricity
16 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Introduction
Piezoelectrics is coupling between structural and electrical fields

that occurs in piezoelectric materials. Applying a voltage to a
piezoelectric material creates a displacement, and vibrating a
piezoelectric material generates a voltage.
Piezoelectric coupling is a natural property of some single crystals
• quartz
• ferroelectric ceramics (PZT)
• piezoelectric polymers (PVDF)
Direct piezoelectric coupling converts mechanical energy to electrical
energy
Inverse piezoelectric coupling converts electric energy into
mechanical energy
17 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectricity
Piezoelectric analyses may be
• static
• transient
• modal including prestressed modal (using linear perturbation)
• harmonic (FULL and MSUP) including prestressed harmonic (using linear
perturbation)
For static analyses, piezoelectric materials are characterized by
• structural elasticity
• piezoelectric coupling
• dielectric permittivity
For dynamic analyses, additional data are required
• density
• structural damping
• dielectric damping
18 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Direct Effect
Generates proportional electric polarization (charge)

when a mechanical stress is applied to piezoelectric
material:
• converts mechanical energy to electrical energy
Applied in piezoelectric sensors:

F
• accelerometers
• pressure transducers + + + + + + + +
• strain gauges – – – – – – – –
-F
19 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Inverse Effect
Produces proportional displacement when electric voltage

is applied to piezoelectric material
• converts electrical energy to mechanical energy
Applied in piezoelectric actuators
• micropositioning
• flow control in micropumps
u
+
V 
–
20 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Static Analysis
Static analysis used to determine effects of steady-state

mechanical and electric loads
• deflection of piezoelectric actuator under constant
voltage
• voltage of piezoelectric sensor under constant strain
SPARSE matrix direct solver recommended.
21 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Modal Analysis
Modal analysis used to determine vibration characteristics

• resonant frequencies and mode shapes
Piezoelectric actuators often driven near resonance for higher
efficiency
• if AC is applied near resonance frequency, deflection
amplitude increases drastically
Modal analysis is typically used to determine working
frequencies of piezoelectric device
• starting point for piezoelectric harmonic analysis
Block Lanczos direct solver recommended.
22 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Analysis – Harmonic Analysis
Harmonic analysis used to determine response to

sinusoidally varying loading
• calculates response within specified frequency range
• frequency range typically spans resonance frequencies
– determined from modal analysis
SPARSE matrix direct solver recommended
23 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Constitutive Equations
In a piezoelectric analysis, the structural and quasi-

electrostatic fields are coupled by means of piezoelectric
constants [e]
Structural Electrostatic
{T} - stress vector {D} - electric flux density

{S} - elastic strain vector {E} - electric field intensity
[c] - elastic stiffness [e] - piezoelectric matrix [ ] - dielectric permittivity
24 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Finite Element Equation
Element matrices:
KUU - structural stiffness
K VV - dielectric permittivity
KUV - piezoelectric coupling
 KUU KUV  U  CUU 0  U  MUU 0 U   F  CUU - structural damping
K T   +  +  = 
 UV -K VV   V   0 -CVV   V   0 0  V  Q C VV - dielectric dissipation
MUU - mass
Element loads:
F - force - F,,FX (also FY, FZ) +
• U and V are strongly coupled through the surface pressure - SF,,PRES +
piezoelectric matrices [KUV] and [KUV]T
thermal strain - BF,,TEMP
Q - negative electric charge - F,,CHRG +
• Symmetric FE matrix surface charge density - SF,CHRGS
volume charge density - BF,,CHRGD
thermo-piezoelectric charge - BF,,TEMP
Element unknowns:
U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ)
V - voltage (VOLT)
25 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Piezoelectric Analysis – Piezoelectric
Matrix
Piezoelectric matrix [e] links the electric and stress fields
• transpose [e]T relates the strain S to electric flux D
ANSYS input order for [e] differs from IEEE standard
• due to special ordering of stress vector components
IEEE [e] ANSYS [e]
x  e11 e12 e13  x  e11 e12 e13 
y e 21 e 22 e 23  y e 21 e 22 e 23 
z e31 e32 e33  z e31 e32 e33 
   
yz e 41 e 42 e 43  xy e 61 e 62 e 63 
xz e51 e52 e53  yz e 41 e 42 e 43 
   
xy e 61 e 62 e 63  xz e51 e52 e53 
26 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix Notation
The piezoelectric constitutive equation relating stress {T}

vector to the strain {S} and electric field {E} vectors can
be written using compressed matrix notation for elastic
[c] and piezoelectric [e] tensors:
 T1   c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16   S1   e11 e12 e13 

T  c c 22 c 23 c 24 c 25 c 26  S2  e 21 e 22 e23 
 2   12     E 
 T3  c13 c 23 c 33 c 34 c 35 c 36  S3   e31 e32 e33   1 
 =   −   E2 
T4  c14 c 24 c 34 c 44 c 45 c 46  S4  e 41 e 42 e 43   
 T5  c15 c 25 c 35 c 45 c 55 c 56  S5   e51 e52 e53  E3 
      
T6  c16 c 26 c 36 c 46 c 56 c 66  S6  e 61 e 62 e 63 
27 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix [c] Input
The 21 elastic constants of the symmetric matrix [c] are input row-wise in
Engineering Data module.
c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16 

 c 22 c 23 c 24 c 25 c 26 
 
 c33 c 34 c 35 c 36 
 
 c 44 c 45 c 46 
 c 55 c56 
 
 c 66 
28 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

IEEE to ANSYS – 3D Matrix [c]
x y z yz xz xy
TB,ANEL
c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16  x
TBDATA,1,c11,c12,c13,c14,c15,c16
 c 22 c 23 c 24 c 25 c 26  y
  TBDATA,7, c22,c23,c24,c25,c26
 c 33 c 34 c 35 c 36  z TBDATA,12, c33,c34,c35,c36
IEEE [c] =  
 c 44 c 45 c 46  yz TBDATA,16, c44,c45,c46
 c 55 c 56  xz TBDATA,19, c55,c56
 
 c 66  xy TBDATA,21, c66
x y z xy yz xz
TB,ANEL
c11 c12 c13 c16 c14 c15  x
 c 22 c 23 c 26 c 24 c 25  y
TBDATA,1,c11,c12,c13,c16,c14,c15
  TBDATA,7, c22,c23,c26,c26,c25
 c 33 c 36 c 34 c 35  z
ANSYS [c] =   TBDATA,12, c33,c36,c34,c35
 c 66 c 46 c 56  xy
TBDATA,16, c66,c46,c56
 c 44 c 54  yz TBDATA,19, c44,c54
 
 c 55  xz TBDATA,21, c55
29 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

IEEE to ANSYS – 3D Matrix [e]
x y z
TB,PIEZ
 e11 e12 e13  x TBDATA,1, e11,e12,e13
e e 22 e 23  y
 21  TBDATA,4, e21,e22,e23
e e32 e33  z TBDATA,7, e31,e32,e33
IEEE [e] =  31 
e 41 e 42 e 43  yz TBDATA,10,e41,e42,e43
 e51 e52 e53  xz TBDATA,13,e51,e52,e53
 
e 61 e 62 e 63  xy TBDATA,16,e61,e62,e63
x y z
TB,PIEZ
 e11 e12 e13  x
e TBDATA,1, e11,e12,e13
e 22 e 23  y
 21  TBDATA,4, e21,e22,e23
e e32 e33  z TBDATA,7, e31,e32,e33
ANSYS [e] =  31 
e 61 e 62 e 63  xy TBDATA,10,e61,e62,e63
e 41 e 42 e 43  yz TBDATA,13,e41,e42,e43
 
 e51 e52 e53  xz TBDATA,16,e51,e52,e53
30 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix [] Input
The symmetric matrix [] is input with the

TB,DPER/TBDATA commands
 11  12 13  ! 6 constants per TBDATA command
3-D     TB,DPER
 22 23 
  33  TBDATA,1,11,22,33,12,23,13
! 3 constants per TBDATA command

  
2-D  11 12  TB,DPER
  22  TBDATA,1,11,22,12
31 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectricity
• stiffness measured under constant electric field [cE],

• piezoelectric stress matrix [e], and
• relative permittivity measured under constant strain [εS].
[e] stress-charge
• clamped and closed circuit
– clamped condition is where material does change
dimensions with applied electric field
• material is physically clamped or
• driven at a frequency high enough above mechanical
resonance that the device does not respond to the
changing E field
32 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectric Coefficients for PZT-5A
Piezoelectric coefficients for PZT-5A are also provided in stress form (e)
• either form could be used for entering the data
 0 − 5 .4 0 
 0 15 . 8 0 
 
 0 − 5 .4 0  C
eANSYS = 
12.3 0 0  m2
 0 0 12.3
 
 0 0 0 
• piezoelectric coefficients in stress form are input using TB,PIEZ with TBOPT=0
– TB,PIEZ,#,,,0
– TBDATA, 3,-5.4
– TBDATA, 6, -5.4
– TBDATA, 9, 15.8
– TBDATA, 14, 12.3
– TBDATA, 16, 12.3
33 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Permittivity Coefficients for PZT-5A
Relative permittivity for PZT-5A is also provided in constant strain form (KS)
916 0 0
S
=  830 0
0
 916
Relative permittivity coefficients in constant strain form are input using

TB,DPER with TBOPT = 0
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
• TBDATA, 1, 916, 830, 916
34 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

3D Poling Direction
Piezoelectric properties are directional-dependent
• must ensure that appropriate element coordinate system is defined for each
element, so that the poling direction is consistent between element coordinate
system and material definition
• Usually identical (piezoelectric crystals are generally transversely isotropic)
35 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

3D Poling Direction
The Piezo & MEMS ACT extension allows to define:

• A « Simplified » case: where the material coefficients are defined
in the matrices based on the chosen polarization axis (explained
in the next slides)
• A Full Matrix definition option
36 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

3D Poling Direction: Simplified
x-polarized y-polarized z-polarized
e33 0 0  0 e31 0  0 0 e31 

e 0 0   0 e 0   0 0 e 
 31   33   31 
piezoelectric  e31 0 0  0 e31 0  0 0 e33 
constants e= →e= →e= 
 0 e15 0  e
 15 0 0   0 0 0 
 0 0 0  0 0 e15   0 e15 0
     
 0 0 e15   0 0 0 e15 0 0
permittivity  K 33 0 0  K11 0 0  K11 0 0

   
= K11 0 → =  K 33 0 → =  K11 0
constants 0  0 0
 K11   K11   K 33 
37 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

2D Analyses
• if poling direction is in-plane, y-polarized transformed matrices

are valid
3D 2D
 s11 s13 s12 0 00
 0
 s33 s13 0 0  s11 s13 s12 0
elastic  s11 0 0 0  s33 s13 0
s3D =  → s2D = 
constants  s44 0 0  s11 0
  
s44 0  s44 
 
 s66 
 0 e31 0
 0 e 0
 33  0 e31 
 0 e 
piezoelectric  0 e31
=
0
→ =  33 
e3D  d
e15 0 0
2D
 0 e31 
constants  
 0 0 e15  e15 0
 
 0 0 0
 K11 0 0
permittivity  3D 
=
 K
0 → 2D =  11
0
K 33 
K 33
constants 0  0 
 K11 
38 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

x-polarized y-polarized
e33 0 0 e31 
piezoelectric e 0  0 e 
constants e =  31 →e= 33 
e31 0 0 e31 
   
0 e15  e15 0 
permittivity
  K 33 0   K11 0 
constants = → =
 0  K11   0  K 33 

39 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezo & MEMS ACT extension
• Use the Piezoelectric Body to define the piezoelectric bodies so change

the element type and define the piezoelectric material properties.
• Polarization Axis
• TB,PIEZ,#,,,0
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
• MP,RSVX,#, (RSVY,RSVZ)
• MP,LSST,#,
40 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In the Electric BCs menu find the objects to apply:
– Electric charge
– Surface Charge Density
– Volume Charge Density
– Voltage (can be frequency dependent in harmonic or time dependent in transient)
– Enforced Motion Voltage
– Voltage Coupling
APDL Commands:
• F,ALL,CHRG
• SF,ALL,CHRG
• BF,ALL,CHRG
• CP,NEXT,VOLT,ALL $ D,nodemin,VOLT
• DVAL
• CP,NEXT,VOLT
41 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In the Electric Results menu find the objects to postprocess:

– Voltage
– Electric Field
– Electric Flux Density
– Impedance
• PLNSOL,VOLT
• PLNSOL,EF,X (Y,Z,SUM)
• PLNSOL,D,X (Y,Z,SUM)
42 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Impedance/Admittance Result
To display the impedance/admittance result you need to ask for
the save of MAPDL database in the “Analysis Settings” of the
model before the resolution:
Note that you can ask to save the MAPDL database by default in
the Options of Mechanical Application.
43 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Multiplying factor >>> Default = 1.0
Example:
Multiplying factor = - 2
• (-) sign is used to account for a 180o shift

• 2 if a half symmetry model is used
44 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

The impedance result allows to plot the real & imaginary part
of the impedance:
45 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Linear Perturbation
Piezoelectric analyses support linear perturbation. Thus a
previous static analysis can be linked in the project schematic
to a modal or harmonic analysis.
If this case the piezoelectric body is only inserted

in the static analysis.
46 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Mode Superposition Harmonic
The voltage is then applied in the harmonic analysis using

“Enforced Motion Voltage” object:
47 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Application: Piezoelectric Fan
Piezoelectric fan
• Spot cooling for electronic components
• Low magnetic permeability
• Blade driven by piezoelectric bimorph
Image courtesy of Piezo Systems, Inc.
Bimorph
Blade
FR4 Board
Two piezoelectric layers

with opposing polarity.
Finite Element Mesh

48 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Application: Piezoelectric ultrasonic
transducer used for wire bonding.
Example application: Integrated Circuits (IC)
Kwok et, al. 2009

Lead-free piezoelectric transducers for
microelectronic wirebonding applications
49 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Application: Actuators
Piezoelectric Bender
Flexural Actuator
Micro Gripper
Piezo-Actuator
Piezo-Actuator
50 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thermal-Piezoelectric
51 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Coupling
In a thermal-piezoelectric analysis, the structural,
thermal and quasi-electrostatic fields are coupled by the
thermoelastic and piezoelectric constitutive equations:
Structural
Thermal Electrostatic
52 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

 K UU KUT K UV   U   CUU 0 0  U  MUU 0 0  U   F 
 0        
K TT 0   T  + -T0K TUT CTT 0   T  +  0 0 0   T  = QT 
     
K TUV K VT  
-K VV   V   0 0 -C VV   V   0 0 0   V  Qe 
 
Element matrices:
• Nonsymmetric FE matrix KUU - structural stiffness

K TT - thermal conductivity
• Coupling K VV - dielectric permittivity
– U and T are strongly coupled by thermoelastic coupling matrices KUT - thermoelastic coupling
KUT and CTU KUV - piezoelectric coupling
– U and V are strongly coupled by the piezoelectric coupling K VT - thermo-piezoelectric coupling
matrices KUV and KVU CUU - structural damping
CTT - specific heat damping
– V and T are strongly coupled by the thermo-piezoelectric
C VV - dielectric dissipation
coupling matrix KVT
MUU - mass
T0 - absolute reference temperature
Element loads:
Element unknowns: F - force - F,,FX (also FY,FZ)
U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ) QT - heat generation load - F,,HEAT +
T - temperature (TEMP) convection surface heat flow - SF,,CONV
V - voltage (VOLT) Qe - negative electric charge - Q,,CHRG
53 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thermoelastic Damping
• In a thermoelastic solid, the strain field is coupled to the temperature field

– compressed region becomes hotter and extended region becomes cooler
• The thermoelastic damping is the result of irreversible heat flow across
temperature gradients created by the strain field
– energy is dissipated
• Fundamental energy dissipation mechanism: a non-zero thermal expansion

coefficient introduces a lower limit to losses.
54 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Thermal-Piezoelectric Body to define the thermal-piezoelectric

bodies so change the element type and define the thermal-
piezoelectric material properties.
• TB,PIEZ,#,,,0
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
• MP,LSST,#,
55 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Electric charge
– Voltage (can be frequency dependent in harmonic or time dependent in transient)
APDL Commands:
• F,ALL,CHRG
• SF,ALL,CHRG
• BF,ALL,CHRG
• CP,NEXT,VOLT
56 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In the Thermal BCs menu find the objects to apply:
– Temperature
– Convection
– Heat Generation
– Heat Flow
– Heat Flux
– Temperature Coupling APDL Commands:
• D,ALL,TEMP
• SF,ALL,CONV
• BFE,ALL,HGEN
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• CP,NEXT,TEMP
57 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Voltage
– Electric Field
– Impedance
• PLNSOL,VOLT
58 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In the Thermal Results menu find the objects to postprocess:

– Temperature
– Heat Flux
– Thermoelastic Damping
• PLNSOL,TEMP
• PLNSOL,TF,X (Y,Z,SUM)
59 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thermoelastic Damping Result
To display the thermoelastic damping result you need to ask for the
save of MAPDL database in the “Analysis Settings” of the model
before the resolution.
It is also required to request to output the “General
Miscellaneous”:
60 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistivity
61 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Capability
The piezoresistive effect is the change of electric resistivity of the material
caused by an applied mechanical strain or stress. Many materials change
their resistance when strained, but the piezoresistive effect is most
pronounced in semiconductors. Piezoresistive analysis is used to
determine the change in electric field or current distributions due to
applied forces or pressure.
Piezoresistivity is most noticeable in semiconductor materials:

– germanium
– polycrystalline silicon
– amorphous silicon
– silicon carbide R1 R4
R2 R3
– single crystal silicon
Force
62 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistivity
Piezoresistive coupling converts mechanical energy to

electrical energy
• change in electrical resistance in response to an applied mechanical
stress
• unlike piezolectricity, there is no inverse piezoresistive effect
– cannot create a mechanical strain by altering the resistance
Primary application is sensors

• accelerometers
• pressure sensors u
• strain gauges Ω
63 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Equations
In a piezoresistive analysis, the structural and electric fields

are coupled by means of piezoresistive coefficients []:
[  ] = [  0 ] ([ ] + [ ]{ } )
Structural Electrical
[  ] - electrical resistivity
{ } - stress vector
 - identity matrix
[ ] - piezoresistive coefficients
64 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Equations (cont)
FEA piezoresistive matrix equations
 M 0    C 0   K 0  u  F 
    
u u
u u
0 0    +      +     =  
  V  0 C  V   0 K  V  I 
v V
• [Kv] contains electric conductivity coefficients (orthotropic)

• [Ku] contains anisotropic stiffness coefficients
• [Cu] contains structural damping coefficients
• [Cv] contains electric damping (dielectric) coefficients
65 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Element matrices:
KUU - structural stiffness
KUU 0  U  CUU 0  U  MUU 0 U  F  K VV - electric conductivity
 0 K (U)  V  +  0 C    +  0 0   =  I  CUU - structural damping
 VV    VV   V    V   
CVV - dielectric damping
MUU - mass
• U and V are weakly coupled by the electric conductivity

Element loads:
matrix Kvv(U), updated based on the stress state
F - force - F,,FX (also FY,FZ)
• Iterative solution I - electric current - F,,AMPS
• Symmetric
Element unknowns:
U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ)
V - voltage (VOLT)
66 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Constitutive Equation – Matrix Notation
Under stress {}, the initial resistivity [] of a piezoresistive
material changes to []: ρ ρ ρ  ρ 0 0   1
0
0 0 r11 r12 r13  
11 12 13 11
ρ   
ρ22 ρ23  =  0 ρ0 22 0   0 1 0 + r12 r22 r23  
 12     
ρ13 ρ23 ρ33   0 0 ρ033   0 0 1 r13 r23 r33  
• where the relative change in resistivity vector {r} is calculated from the
stress vector {} using the piezoresistive matrix []:
 r1   11  12  13  14  15  16   1 
r    22  23  24  25  26   2 
 2   22
r3   31  32  33  34  35  36   3 
 =  
r4   41  42  43  44  45  46   4 
r5   51  52  53  54  55  56   5 
    
r6   61  62  63  64  65  66   6 
• where the symmetric matrix [r] is written in the vector form {r} using
compressed matrix notation:
r11 r12 r13   r1 r6 r5 
r r r  = r r r 
 12 22 23   6 2 4 
r13 r23 r33  r5 r4 r3 
67 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix [] Input
The 36 elastic constants of the matrix [] are input row-

wise with the TB,PZRS/TBDATA commands
  11  12  13  14  15  16  TB,PZRS
  22  23  24  25  26 
 22 TBDATA,1, 11,12,13,14,15,16
 31  32  33  34  35  36  TBDATA,7, 21,22,23,24,25,26
 
 41  42  43  44  45  46  TBDATA,13,31,32,33,34,35,36
 51  52  53  54  55  56  TBDATA,19,41,42,43,44,45,46
 
 61  62  63  64  65  66  TBDATA,25,51,52,53,54,55,56
TBDATA,31,61,62,63,64,65,66
68 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix [] Input for Silicon
Silicon is a material of choice for the piezoresistive devices

For silicon and other semiconductors belonging to the cubic
group symmetry, the piezoresistive [] matrix is
• symmetric
• has only 3 independent coefficients 11,12,44
 11  12  12 0 0 0  TB,PZRS
  11  12 0 0 0  TBDATA,1, 11,12,12
 12 
 12  12  11 0 0 0  TBDATA,7, 12,11,12
 
 0 0 0  44 0 0  TBDATA,13,12,12,11
0 0 0 0  44 0  TBDATA,22,44
 
 0 0 0 0 0  44  TBDATA,29,44
TBDATA,36,44
69 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Material Properties
Piezoresistive material property definitions and input are similar
to those used for piezoelectric material
For static analysis, piezoresistive materials are characterized by

• structural elasticity
• piezoresistive coupling
• electrical resistivity
For a dynamic analysis, additional data are required

• dielectric permittivity
• density
• structural damping
70 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Matrix [c] Input
The 21 elastic constants of the symmetric matrix [c] are input row-wise in
Engineering Data module.
c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16 

 c 22 c 23 c 24 c 25 c 26 
 
 c33 c 34 c 35 c 36 
 
 c 44 c 45 c 46 
 c 55 c56 
 
 c 66 
71 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

IEEE to ANSYS – 3D Matrix [c]
x y z yz xz xy
TB,ANEL
c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16  x
TBDATA,1,c11,c12,c13,c14,c15,c16
 c 22 c 23 c 24 c 25 c 26  y
  TBDATA,7, c22,c23,c24,c25,c26
 c 33 c 34 c 35 c 36  z TBDATA,12, c33,c34,c35,c36
IEEE [c] =  
 c 44 c 45 c 46  yz TBDATA,16, c44,c45,c46
 c 55 c 56  xz TBDATA,19, c55,c56
 
 c 66  xy TBDATA,21, c66
x y z xy yz xz
TB,ANEL
c11 c12 c13 c16 c14 c15  x
 c 22 c 23 c 26 c 24 c 25  y
TBDATA,1,c11,c12,c13,c16,c14,c15
  TBDATA,7, c22,c23,c26,c26,c25
 c 33 c 36 c 34 c 35  z
ANSYS [c] =   TBDATA,12, c33,c36,c34,c35
 c 66 c 46 c 56  xy
TBDATA,16, c66,c46,c56
 c 44 c 54  yz TBDATA,19, c44,c54
 
 c 55  xz TBDATA,21, c55
72 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Coefficients
Format for piezoresistive coefficients is different than format

for piezoelectric coefficients
IEEE Standard 176 uses a 6x6 form for the piezoresistive matrix
As with elasticity matrix, arrangement of rows in IEEE Standard

176 format is different than required by ANSYS
• IEEE Standard 176 order is {x, y, z, yz, xz, xy}
• ANSYS order is {x, y, z, xy, yz, xz}
• shear rows must be reordered
73 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoresistive Coefficients
Piezoresistive coupling matrix is given in stress form [π]

• due to cubic symmetry, IEEE Standard 176 and ANSYS formats
are identical
6.5 − 1.1 − 1.1 0 0 0

 6 .5 − 1.1 0 0 0 
 
 6.5 0 0 0 m 2
 = 10 
−5

 138.1 0 0  MN
 138.1 0
 
 138.1
74 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Permittivity Coefficients
Dynamic analyses requires dielectric damping
Relative permittivity is also provided in constant strain form (KS)
916 0 0
S
=  830 0
0
 916
Relative permittivity coefficients in constant strain form are input using

TB,DPER with TBOPT = 0
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
• TBDATA, 1, 916, 830, 916
75 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

2D Analyses
If material has cubic symmetry, 2D material data constants
are identical to 3D material data constants
3D 2D
c11 c12 c12 0 0 0
 0
 c11 c12 0 0 c11 c12 c12 0 TB,ANEL,#,,,0
 0  0
c3D =
c11 0 0
 → c2D =  c11 c12 TBDATA, 1, C11, C12, C12
 c44 0 0  c11 0
   TBDATA, 7, C11, C12
c44 0  c44 
  TBDATA, 12, C11
 c44 
TBDATA, 16, C44
  11  12  12 0 0 0
  11  12 0
 0 0   11  12  12 0 TB,PZRS,#,,,0
  11 0 0 0   11  12 0
 3D =  →  2D =  TBDATA, 1, P11, P12, P12
  44 0 0   11 0
  44 0
 
 44 
TBDATA, 7, P12, P11, P12

  TBDATA, 13, P12, P12, P11
  44 
TBDATA, 22, P44
 11 0 0
 0
 3D =   22 0 →  2D =  11 MP,RSVX,#,R11
  22 
  33 
76 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Material Property Orientation
Piezoresistive materials typically have cubic symmetry

• no preferred material direction (Simplified case)
If material behavior is direction dependent

• material data must be orientated with element coordinate
systems
• material matrices must be rearranged (Full Matrices)
77 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

3D Poling Direction
The Piezo & MEMS ACT extension allows to define:

• A « Simplified » case: where the material coefficients are defined
in the matrices based on the chosen polarization axis (explained
in the next slides)
• A Full Matrix definition option
78 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

x-polarized y-polarized z-polarized
 K 33 0 0  K11 0 0  K11 0 0
   
permittivity = K11 0 → =  K 33 0 → =  K11 0
constants 0 0 0
 K11   K11   K 33 
79 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

x-polarized y-polarized
permittivity
  K 33 0   K11 0 
= → =
 0  K11   0  K 33 

constants
80 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Piezoresistive Body to define the piezoresistive bodies so

change the element type and define the piezoresistive material
properties.
• TB,PRSZ,#,,,0
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
81 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Electric charge
– Voltage (can be time dependent in transient)
APDL Commands:
• F,ALL,CHRG
• SF,ALL,CHRG
• BF,ALL,CHRG
• CP,NEXT,VOLT
82 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Voltage
– Electric Field
• PLNSOL,VOLT
83 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Application – MEMS Pressure Transducer
Pressure transducer
• Piezoresistive sensors in a Wheatstone bridge
Objective to compute differential voltage
Silicon Nitride
Diaphragm
Voltage Coupling to create

Piezoresistors Wheatstone Bridge Circuit
Silicon Substrate
84 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Application – MEMS Pressure Transducer
Structural and electric results for pressure

transducer
• Differential voltage = 8.33 mV
Equivalent Stress
Diaphragm Deformation
Electric Potential
85 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
86 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

In an Electrostatic-Structural analysis, an electrostatic force causes

an elastic dielectric to deform. Application areas include
electroactive polymer actuators, and electrostatic micro-
electromechanical-mechanical devices (MEMS) such as
electromechanical switches, sensors and actuators, comb drives,
accelerometers, torsional micromirrors, and gyroscopes.
Electrostatic-Structural analysis types:
• Static
• Full Transient
• Harmonic (including Linear perturbation)
• Modal (including Linear perturbation)
87 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Electrostatic Analysis – Introduction
Electrostatic field analyses determine the electric field

and electric scalar potential (voltage) distribution in a
dielectric caused by charge distributions or applied
potentials
Electrostatic analyses are assumed to be linear (electric
field is proportional to the applied voltage)
Electrostatic analyses can be performed using either the
h-method or p-method (h-method is more common)
Mechanical forces produced by electrostatic fields are
commonly used to actuate MEMS devices
88 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Coupling
In an Electrostatic-Structural analysis, structural and

electrostatic fields are coupled by an electric force {Fe}:
Structural {Fe } = −   • [ M ]dV Electrostatic

V
[ M ] - Maxwell stress tensor =

1
2
( {E}{D} T + {D}{E} T - {D} T {E}{} )
{D} - electric flux density

{E} - electric field intensity
{ } - identity matrix
89 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Electrostatic-Structural Analysis –
Maxwell Equations
Fundamental equations for electrostatics
From Maxwell’s Equations for electrostatic fields:
X E = 0 : curl of E equals 0
٠D = ρ : divergence of D equals ρ
where: ρ = free charge density

D = electric flux density
Δ
E = electric field = - V
The constitutive relationship for electric fields is D=εE
90 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Governing Equation
Governing equation for electrostatics is
●ε ø = -ρ
where ρ = free charge density

ε = permittivity
ø = electric potential
91 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Electrostatic-Structural Analysis – Heat
Transfer Analogy
Electrostatics Heat Transfer
.
●ε ø = -ρ ●k T = -q
where
.q = heat generation rate
where ρ = free charge density
ε = permittivity k = thermal conductivity
T = temperature
ø = electric potential
• DOF (temperature –> electric potential)

• material property (thermal conductivity –> electrical permittivity)
• excitation (heat generation rate –> electric charge density)
92 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

𝑴 𝟎 𝒖ሷ 𝑪 𝟎 𝒖ሶ 𝑲 + 𝑲𝒆𝒖 𝑲𝒆𝑽 𝒖 𝑭
+ + 𝑻 =
𝟎 𝟎 𝑽ሷ 𝟎 −𝑪𝒗𝒉 𝑽ሶ 𝑲𝒆𝑽 −𝑲𝒅 𝑽 𝑳
Element matrices:
• {F} and {L} are the loads vectors M - structural mass
• Direct solution C - structural stiffness
K - structural damping
• Symmetric FE matrix Cvh - dielectric damping
Kd - dielectric permittivity
Keu - electric force stiffness
KeV - electric force coupling
Element loads:
Element unknowns: surface pressure - SF,,PRES +
U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ) thermal stress - BF,,TEMP
V - voltage (VOLT) Q - electric charge - F,,CHRG
93 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Air Gap Morphing - Procedure
Electrostatic-Structural analysis can be applied to model air
gaps in MEMS devices
• Assign small elastic stiffness and a zero Poisson’s ratio to the
‘elastic air’ elements
• “Electrostatic force” option controls the way the electric force is
applied
– To every element node (volumetric force transfer)
– Applied to the nodes on the air-structure interface
– Not applied (to model air elements not adjacent to the structure)
Direct Electrostatic-Structural
Analysis
Volumetric force transfer Electric force transfer

within a solid dielectric across solid-air interface
(default) (KEYOPT(4)=1)
94 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Material Properties
Electrostatic-Structural analysis requires permittivity
ANSYS uses relative permittivity (i.e., dielectric constant)
ε = ε0*εr where ε = total permittivity

ε0 = free-space permittivity
εr = relative permittivity
Relative permittivity is material dependent

Relative permittivity of air is 1.0
95 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Electrostatic Analysis – Boundary
Conditions
Electric flux must be specified for exterior surfaces
Electric flux can be specified to be parallel or normal to surface
Flux Parallel Condition
• electric flux parallel to surface
• default condition; any surface with no specified boundary
condition is automatically treated as a flux parallel surface
• referred to as a Neumann boundary
Flux Normal Condition
• electric flux normal to the surface
• surfaces of constant electric potential
• referred to as a Dirichlet boundary
96 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Electrostatic-Structural Body to define the Electrostatic-

Structural bodies so change the element type and define the
Electrostatic-Structural material properties.
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
• Electrostatic force
option
97 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Electric charge
APDL Commands:
• F,ALL,CHRG
• SF,ALL,CHRG
• BF,ALL,CHRG
• CP,NEXT,VOLT
98 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Voltage
– Electric Field
• PLNSOL,VOLT
99 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Application - Folded Dielectric Elastomer
Actuator
Dielectric
Applied voltage between the electrodes Elastomer
Maxwell electrostatic pressure arises
The elastomer compresses based on electrostatic
pressure
Compliant
Electrode
+Vin
Unfolded Actuator
Finite Element Model
100 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Application - Folded Dielectric Elastomer
Actuator
Electrostatic-Structural results
Image courtesy of Federico Carpi,

University of Pisa
Electric Potential
Vertical Compression vs. Voltage
0.0E+00
Vertical Compression
-2.0E-02 0 200 400 600 800
-4.0E-02
-6.0E-02
-8.0E-02
-1.0E-01
-1.2E-01
Electric Potential
Equivalent Stress
101 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Linear Perturbation
Electrostatic-Structural analyses support linear perturbation.
Thus a previous static analysis can be linked in the project
schematic to a modal or harmonic analysis.
If this case the Electrostatic-Structural body is only inserted

in the static analysis.
102 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Structural-Thermal
103 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thermal-Structural Coupling
Thermal-structural coupling provides the ability to perform

thermal-stress analyses including large deflection and stress-
stiffening. In a dynamic analysis, you can also include the
piezocaloric effect. Piezocaloric applications include thermo-
elastic damping in metals and MEMS devices such as
resonator beams. Thermo-elastic damping arises from the
irreversible heat flow across the temperature gradients
induced by the strain field.
Thermal-structural analysis types:

• Static
• Harmonic
• Transient
104 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
In a thermo-structural analysis, structural and thermal

fields are coupled by means of the coefficients of thermal
expansion {}:
Structural Thermal
{S} - entropy density

T - change in temperature
T - absolute temperature
{ } - total strain vector 0
{ } - stress vector { } - vector of coefficients  − density
[D] - elastic stiffness of thermal expansion C - specific heat
p
105 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

KUU KUT  U  CUU 0  U Muu 0 U  F 
 0 K  T  + -T K T   +   = 
 TT     0 UT CTT  T   0 0 T  Q
Element matrices:
If Strong Coupling is used: K UU - structural stiffness
• U and T are strongly coupled through the thermoelastic K TT - thermal conductivity
coupling matrices [KUT] and T0[KUT ]T K UT - thermoelastic coupling
• Analyses types CUU - structural damping

CTT - specific heat damping
– Static MUU - mass
– Transient T0 - absolute reference temperature
– Harmonic
Element loads:
– Modal
• Unsymmetric FE matrix surface pressure - SF,,PRES
Q - heat generation - F,,HEAT +
If Load Vector is used: convection surface heat flow - SF,,CONV
• U and T are load vector coupled
Element unknowns:
• Solution is iterative U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ)
• Analysis type can be static or transient T - temperature (TEMP)
106 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Material Input for the Piezocaloric Effect
The piezocaloric effect (thermoelastic damping) is taken into account

in dynamic analyses
Note the following about the input for the piezocaloric effect
calculation:
• Specific heat (MP,C input) is assumed to be at constant pressure (stress) Cp.
It is internally converted to specific heat at constant volume (strain) Cv
T0
  Dα
T
CV =Cp - α
ρ
107 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019



108 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Structural-Thermal Body to define the thermo-structural

bodies so change the element type and define the thermo-structural
material properties.
109 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Temperature
– Convection
– Heat Generation
– Heat Flow
– Heat Flux
• D,ALL,TEMP
• SF,ALL,CONV
• BFE,ALL,HGEN
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• CP,NEXT,TEMP
110 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Temperature
– Heat Flux
• PLNSOL,TEMP
111 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thermoelastic Damping Result
To display the thermoelastic damping result you need to ask for the
save of MAPDL database in the “Analysis Settings” of the model
before the resolution.
It is also required to request to output the “General
Miscellaneous”:
112 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Structural-
Thermoelectric
113 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Structural-Thermal-Electric Coupling
Structural effects can include large deflection and stress-stiffening.

Transient structural, thermal and electrical effects can be included
to model structural deformation, heat transfer and current flow
simultaneously.
Structural-Thermal-Electric Coupling Analysis Types:

• Steady State
• Transient
114 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

A structural-thermal-electric analysis include the thermal
expansion, piezocaloric, Joule heating :
Structural Thermal
Electrical
115 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

K UU K UT 0   U   CUU 0 0  U  MUU 0 0  U   F 
 0 K        
0   T  + -T0K TUT CTT 0   T  +  0 0 0   T  = Q+QJ +QP 
 TT     
 0 K VT  
K VV (U)  V   0 C VV   V   0 0 0   V  
  
0 I 
Element matrices:
• Nonsymmetric FE matrix (default) K UU - structural stiffness
• Coupling K TT - thermal conductivity
K UT - thermoelastic coupling
– U and T are strongly coupled by thermoelastic coupling
K VV - electric conductivity
matrices KUT and CTU
K VT - Seebeck coupling
• If KEYOPT(2) = 1, U and T are load vector coupled and, if no
Seebeck coefficients are specified, the FE equation becomes CUU - structural damping
symmetric CTT - specific heat damping
– T and V are strongly coupled by Seebeck coefficient matrix C VV - dielectric damping
KVT and weakly coupled by Peltier and Joule load vector MUU - mass
– U and V are weakly coupled by the piezoresistive T0 - absolute reference temperature

coefficients – KVV(U)
Element loads:
• Iterative solution F - force - F,,FX (also FY,FZ)
Q - heat generation load - F,,HEAT +
Element unknowns: convection surface heat flow - SF,,CONV
U - displacements (UX, UY, UZ) QJ - Joule heat generation
T - temperature (TEMP) Qp - Peltier heat generation
V - voltage (VOLT) I - electric current - F,,AMPS
116 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Application – MEMS Thermal-Electric
Actuator
• Thermal-electric actuation
15 Volt Temperature
0 Volt
Deflection
Current Density
Deflection is induced by the differential

thermal expansion between the thin and
wide arms.
SEM image courtesy of Victor Bright,
117 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019 University of Colorado at Boulder


118 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Structural-Thermoelectric Body to define the Structural-

Thermoelectric bodies so change the element type and define the
Structural-Thermoelectric material properties.
• TB,DPER,#,,,0
119 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Electric charge
– Enforced Motion Voltage (beta)
APDL Commands:
• F,ALL,CHRG
• SF,ALL,CHRG
• BF,ALL,CHRG
• DVAL
• CP,NEXT,VOLT
120 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

– Temperature
– Convection
– Heat Generation
– Heat Flow
– Heat Flux
• D,ALL,TEMP
• SF,ALL,CONV
• BFE,ALL,HGEN
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• SF,ALL,HFLUX
• CP,NEXT,TEMP
121 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Voltage
– Electric Field
– Impedance
• PLNSOL,VOLT
122 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019


– Temperature
– Heat Flux
• PLNSOL,TEMP
123 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Direct Electrostatic-Structural
Coupling Using EM Transducer
124 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Electrostatic-Structural Coupling Using
TRANS126 – Introduction
Direct Method
• physics domains are coupled within the stiffness matrix
• used to simultaneously calculate DOFs from multiple
fields
• usually nonlinear since equilibrium must satisfied based
on multiple criteria
• usually more costly than comparably sized single-field
models
– more DOFs are active per node
• enables solving pre-stressed modal and harmonic
analysis which cannot be done using indirect methods
125 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Fundamentals
Consider a charged plate moving w/r to a stationary plate
Q = C ( x)V
where
Q = charge V=0 V, dV/dt
C ( x) = capacitanc e (function of x)
x=0 x, dx/dt
V = potential drop
dQ motion
I=
dt
dV dC dx
I =C + V
dt dx dt
motion Induced current
capacitive current due to voltage change
126 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
TRANS126 – Fundamentals (cont)
About the stable (operating) solution, total current and force can be
approximated for small perturbations
Basis for “pre-stress” static, modal, and harmonic analysis
Taking a Taylor Series expansion about an operating
point ( I 0 , F0 )
I I I I
I = I0 + x + v + V + w
x v V w
F F F F
F = F0 + x + v + V + w
x v V w
where :
I 0 = Operating point current
F0 = Operating point electrosta tic force
v = velocity (dx / dt )
w = voltage rate (dV / dt )
127 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Element Description
TRANS126
• couples structural motion with electrostatic fields
• fully coupled 1D electromechanical finite element with a
unidirectional structural DOF (UX, UY, or UZ) and voltage
potential DOF
Uj VOLTj
element input is capacitance versus

stroke (variable capacitor)
Ui VOLTi
128 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Element Description (cont)
behavior is characterized by capacitance vs stroke curve
(variable capacitor):
• stroke is relative displacement of end nodes (along one
axis)
• capacitance data can be supplied as a series of data
points or as a polynomial (up to third order)
• can use electrostatic simulations (CMATRIX) to
determine the capacitance data
Element can be aligned with any of the three global
cartesian axes or in user defined coordinate system:
• for an user defined coordinate system, nodes must be
rotated (NROTAT) into that coordinate system
129 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Element Description (cont)
can be used in a “lumped sense” as a transducer
• single element representing bulk coupling
can be used in a “distributed sense”
• multiple elements representing “unit cells”
connects directly to other finite element models
• solid structural models (solid elements, shell elements,
etc.)
• reduced order structural models (spring, mass, dampers,
etc.)
• electromechanical reduced order models (spring, mass,
damper, resistor, capacitors, inductors, etc.)
• combined solid models and reduced order models
130 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Capabilities
Static Analysis
• pull-in simulation (stable and unstable roots) for force,
voltage, displacement, and current excitation
Modal Analysis
• eigenfrequencies
• pre-stressed eigenfrequenices eigenvalue (from dc bias
voltage excitation or mechanical excitation, including
damped and undamped systems)
pre-stressed, small-signal harmonic analysis (from dc bias
voltage or mechanical excitation)
large signal transient analysis (time transient excitation)
131 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Input
Required input via real constant set
• Capacitance
• Initial Gap
• Minimum Gap
Capacitance can be described by
a polynomial or a curve of
discrete data points
GAP represents the initial gap

between conductor surfaces
GAPMIN represents the

minimum gap (contact point))
132 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Orientation
Element orientation is critical, must be aligned
• with one the global cartesian axes or an user defined
coordinate system
• such that a positive movement of node “J” relative to
node “I” increases the gap (in the nodal coordinate
system)
133 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Contact
If gap is “open” (GAP>GAPMIN),

“tension only” element
if gap closes (GAP<GAPMIN),

“contact” element defined by
stiffness KN
134 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Applications
Common applications
• lateral comb drives (lumped)
• rotary comb drives (lumped)
• actuators and switches (distributed)
• mirrors (distributed)
• pressure sensors (distributed)
135 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Lumped Usage
Electrostatic behavior of the drive and pick-up combs can be represented
by “lumped” TRANS126 elements and the remainder of the device can
be represented by 3D solid elements
Electrostatic behavior of the drive and pick-up combs can be represented
by “lumped” TRANS126 elements and the remainder of the device can
be represented by lumped elements
136 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Lumped Usage (cont)
Capacitance versus stroke relationship can be obtained by
hand calculations or an ANSYS electrostatic analyses
(CMATRIX)
TRANS126 elements can be used in off axes directions to
include 3D effects
Additional electric circuit elements (resistors, inductors,
etc.) can be attached to the model using CIRC124 element
137 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – Distributed Usage
Example of TRANS126 used in a “distributed” sense
Area
Micro Mirror (side view)
“unit” cell of air gap
TRANS126 elements used to Unit Cell

represent one “cell” of air
Cap = eps*Area / gap
138 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – EMTGEN Macro
EMTGEN is a macro that automatically generates

TRANS126 elements
• limited application
• typically used to generate a distributed array of
TRANS126 elements for devices such as switches and
mirrors
139 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

TRANS126 – EMTGEN Macro (cont)
INPUT FOR EMTGEN MACRO

free space
permittivity
component of generated minimum

active DOF
TRANS126 elements allowable gap
EMTGEN,‘ncomp’,‘ecomp’,‘pcomp’, ‘DOF’,gap,gapmin,FKN,Per0
component of component of generated contact stiffness

surface nodes plane nodes factor
initial gap
140 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

EMTGEN macro description
The EMTGEN command generates a set of TRANS126 elements between the

surface nodes of a moveable structure and a plane of nodes, typically representing a
ground plane. The plane of nodes are created by the command at a specified offset
(GAP). Each element attaches to a surface node and to a corresponding node
representing the plane.
You can use TRANS126 elements for simulating electrostatic structural coupling
between a MEMS device and a plane, if the gap distance between the device and
the plane is small compared to the overall surface area dimensions of the device.
This assumption allows for a point-wise closed-form solution of capacitance between
the surface nodes and the plane; i.e. CAP = EPZERO*AREA/GAP, where EPZERO
if the free-space permittivity, AREA is the area associated with the node, and GAP is
the gap between the node and the plane. The area for each node is computed using
the ARNODE function in ANSYS. …..
The TRANS126 element also employs a node-to-node gap feature so you can
perform contact-type simulations where the structure contacts a plane (such as a
ground plane). The contact stiffness factor, FKN, is used to control contact
penetration once contact is initiated. A smaller value provides for easier
convergence, but with more penetration.
141 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
EM Transducer load
The new structural load EM Transducer is created under the
Direct FE folder to allow modeling of simple MEMS devices in
Workbench structural environments.
This load uses the EMTGEN MAPDL macro to internally

create set of coupled field TRANS126 elements with some
simplified characteristics.
Separated by GAP distance newly created nodes assumed to be fixed
The EM Transducer load should be scoped only

to nodes using nodal based Named Selections,
as other Direct FE loads.
Gap direction, defined in Nodal Coordinate

System, actually specifies the structural DOF
used in analysis together with VOLT DOF.
Initial and Minimal Gap value parameters

specify the motion range in above direction.
142 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Example: Simple MEMS model
The simple MEMS model shows hysteresis behavior under

electro-static load.
Plate is clamped at either end and suspended on 0.7 micrometers (um)
over a ground plane with contact stop at 0.1 um. The plate dimension and
material properties are:
Length = 80 um; Width = 10 um; Height = .5um
Young modulus = 169 GPa; Poisson ratio = 0.25
The results from the below reference:

Pull-in Voltage 17.5V: displacement 0.3 um Release Voltage 11.5V : displacement 0.6 um
Pull-in Voltage 18.0V: displacement 0.6 um Release Voltage 11.0V : displacement 0.075 um
J.R.Gilbert, G.K.Ananthasuresh, S.D.Senturia, (MIT) :
"3D Modelling of Contact Problems and Hysteresis in Coupled Electro-Mechanics", MEMS'96, pp. 127-132.
143 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Clamped plate model in WB
The hysteresis
behavior is
modeled using
tabular dependent
voltage to describe
pull-in process as
well as snapping
back plate under
much lower
release load.
144 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Results of non-linear simulation
The results correspond shown in above reference and exhibit
hysteresis behavior with snapped release voltage around 11 V.
145 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Capacitance Extraction
146 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Capacitance Extraction – Introduction
Capacitance is key parameter in electrostatic devices.

FEA can be used to accurately calculate capacitance.
FEA can be used to extract “ground” capacitance matrix:
• relates charge on conductor with conductor’s voltage
drop (to ground)
“Ground” matrix can be converted to “lumped” matrix of
self and mutual capacitors
Capacitance plays key role in creating electrostatic forces
• Fe = 1/2 dC/dx V2
147 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Capacitance Extraction – Lateral Comb
Drive
Stationary comb structure
Moving comb structure
MEMS Accelerometer
(Courtesy Kionix Corp.)
148 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Drive (cont)
Consider a three-conductor system
• two conductors P12
• one ground plane
P11 P22
Ground Matrix (from finite element simulations)

Q1 = C11 U1 + C12 U2
Q2 = C12 U1 + C22 U2
Lumped Matrix (suitable for circuit simulator simulation)

Q1 = [C11 + C12] [U1 - 0] + [-C12 ] [U1 - U2]
= P11 [ U1 ] + P12 [U1 - U2]
Q2 = [ -C12 ] [U2 - U1] + [C12 + C22] [U2 - 0 ]
= P12 [U1 - U2] + P22 [ U2 ]
149 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Drive (cont)
Typical capacitance response for lateral comb-drive along
the main axis of loading (see graph on next page)
• mutual capacitance between combs (P12) is nearly
linear
– nearly constant, electrostatic force (dC/dx = constant)
• self-capacitance terms with respect to the ground
conductor are small
– produces negligible out-of-plane force on comb teeth
150 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Drive (cont)
Comb Capacitances
1.60E-03
1.40E-03
1.20E-03
Capacitance (pF/um)
1.00E-03
P11
8.00E-04 P22
P12
6.00E-04
4.00E-04
2.00E-04
0.00E+00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Comb Stroke (um)
151 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Capacitance Extraction
ANSYS has an automated tool for extracting ground and lumped

capacitances
• applicable to any system with “n” conductors

• computes self and mutual capacitance
• requires conductor nodes to be grouped into nodal components
• automatically performs series of simulations and computations with
different voltages to obtain capacitance values
• computes both ground and lumped capacitances
• computes Ground Matrix from stored electrostatic energy
152 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Capacitance Extraction (cont)
From Ground Matrix, Capacitance extraction derives Lumped Matrix

• self and mutual capacitance between conductors
Lumped capacitance values (Pxx) can be used with capacitors in
circuit simulation, or with TRANS126
P12
P11 P22
153 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• create electric conduction model of conductors and
surrounding air
– conductors are assumed to be “perfect” conductors
• represent constant potential surface
• inside of the conductor does not require a mesh
• Relative permittivity must be added to the bodies
• group nodes on surface of conductors into individual
nodal components
– nodal component names must share a common prefix
• prefix name is arbitrary
• suffix must be a sequentially increasing number
• for example, nodal components in a three
conductor system could have the following naming
convection
– cond1, cond2, and, cond3
• ground conductor must last number in sequence
154 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

For charge balance, far-field may need to represent ground

conductor
• single charged sphere in free space
Capacitance extraction requires a geometric symmetry factor
• full model
• one-half symmetry model
• one-quarter symmetry model
155 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Ground and lumped capacitance matrices can

then be post-processed using “Capacitance Post
Processing” result:
156 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Damping Characterization
Using Thin Film Elements
157 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Fluid Damping Characterization
A thin film is a small gap of fluid between moving solid

surfaces. A thin film can alter the structural response by
adding stiffness and/or damping to the system. Movement
normal to the gap produces a squeeze film effect.
Movement tangential to the gap produces a slide film effect.
Squeeze-Film Slide-Film
(Couette)
158 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thin Fluid Film Elements
Squeeze Film Element – Fluid136
• Models viscous fluid flow in small gaps between fixed
surfaces and structures moving perpendicular to the fixed
surfaces.
• The element behavior is based on the Reynolds squeeze
film theory and the theory of rarefied gases.
Viscous Link Element – Fluid138
• Models the viscous fluid flow behavior through short
channels (holes) moving perpendicular to fixed surfaces.
Slide Film Element – Fluid139
• Models fluid behavior between a sliding surface and a fixed
wall.
159 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Damping Characterization Using Thin Film
Elements – Introduction
Thin films are small gaps of fluid between moving surfaces
Thin films can alter structural response of device by stiffening
and/or damping the system
Movement normal to gap produces squeeze film effect
Movement tangential to gap produces slide film effect
Thin film effects are particularly critical in microstructures
• air can add significant damping and/or stiffening to MEMS
devices
– squeeze film effects are important in devices such as
accelerometers
– slide film effects are important in devices such as comb-
drives
160 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Background
Reynolds number approach
• minimal modeling effort
– fluid domain is modeled by overlaying elements on
surface of structure
• minimal computational expense
• applicable when the Knudsen number is less than 0.01
– dynamic viscosity can be adjusted to simulate high
Knudsen number flow regime
• does not require any special knowledge of CFD
161 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Squeeze Film Effects
FLUID136 is:
• used model squeeze film effects
• based on linearized Reynolds squeeze film equation known from
lubrication theory
• restricted to structures with lateral dimensions much larger than
gap separation
• limited to where pressure change is small compared to ambient
pressure
• limited to when viscous friction does not produce a significant
temperature change
For systems which operate at high Knudsen numbers (>0.01)
• effective viscosity used to account for slip flow boundary
conditions
162 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Squeeze Film Effects
FLUID138 is:
• used model squeeze film effects through short circular
and rectangular channels of micrometer size
• used in conjunction with FLUID136 to obtain consistent
pressure distribution, including effects of holes
163 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Slide Film Effects
FLUID139 is:
• used to model slide film fluid behavior
• described by a nodal force displacement relationship
• represented by a series connection of mass-damper
elements with internal nodes
– each damper represents viscous shear stress
between two fluid layers and each mass represents
its inertial force
• considers slip flow boundary conditions
164 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Methods
Squeeze film analyses are applicable to devices with
known velocities or unknown velocities
Two methods are available:
• Direct Method
– known velocity profile directly applied to fluid
elements
– essentially rigid body motion
• Modal Projection Method
– unknown velocity profile determined from mode-
frequency response of structure
– essentially flexible bodies
165 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Frequency Effect
Depending on operating frequency, fluid can stiffen
and/or damp system
• damping occurs at low frequencies
– fluid can escape before it compresses
• stiffening occurs at high frequencies
– fluid compresses before it escapes
166 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Direct Method
Static analysis used to determine damping effects at low
frequencies
• compression of fluid, and thus stiffening effect is negligible
FLUID136 is used to model fluid domain between fixed surface
and structure moving normally to the fixed surface
Fluid domain is modeled by overlaying FLUID136 elements on
moving surface of structure
• lower surface of structure adjacent to fixed wall
FLUID138 is used to model holes
• used in conjunction with FLUID136
• necessary to obtain a consistent pressure distribution,
including effects of holes
167 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Direct Method (cont)
Run static analysis with overlayed FLUID136 and
FLUID138 elements to obtain pressure distribution on
device
Resulting static pressure distribution can be used to
extract damping coefficient (C)
• reflects damping effect of fluid
Damping coefficient is total pressure force divided by
normal velocity
• C = F/Vz
– F is total pressure force at fluid structure interface
– Vz is normal velocity component of moving structure
DMPEXT used extract damping and stiffness coefficients
168 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Direct Method (cont)
Complex pressure distribution from harmonic analysis is used to extract
damping (C) and stiffness coefficient (K) at high frequencies
• phase shift between pressure and velocity is caused by compression of
fluid
• real pressure component contributes to damping of system
– C = FRe / Vz
• FRe is real pressure force at fluid structure interface
• Vz is normal velocity component of moving structure
• imaginary pressure component contributes to stiffening of system
– K = FIm / Vz
• FIm is imaginary pressure force at fluid structure interface
• Vz is normal velocity component of moving structure
DMPEXT used extract damping and stiffness coefficients
169 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019
Elements – Modal Projection Method
Modal Projection Technique

• is process of calculating squeeze stiffness and damping
coefficients of fluid using eigenvectors of structure
• provides efficient method for computing damping
parameters for flexible bodies
• determines velocity profiles from mode-frequency
response of structure
Displacement and velocity varies along a structure
undergoing flexible body dynamics
170 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Elements – Modal Projection Method
For thin-film fluid adjacent to structure, structural
velocity and fluid pressure are interdependent
• can compute matrix of
– modal squeeze stiffness coefficients, Kij
– modal damping coefficients, Ci
• diagonal terms are coefficients of each mode
• off-diagonal terms are "cross-talk" between modes
171 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Damping Characterization Using Thin Film Elements –
Modal Projection Method (cont)
Modal damping ratio ξ , and modal squeeze to stiffness ratio kri are
calculated using squeeze and stiffness coefficients from main diagonal
Squeeze to stiffness ratio represents the relative stiffening of the
mechanical system due to fluid compression and resonance shift
• if squeeze-to-stiffness ratio is small (e.g., <.02), squeeze stiffening
effect is negligible
Stiffness and damping coefficients are frequency-dependent
Cut-off frequency is where squeeze and damping forces intersect
• below cut-off frequency stiffness effects are negligible
• above cut-off frequency damping effects are negligible
172 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Damping Characterization Using Thin Film Elements –
Modal Projection Method (cont)
Basic steps in a modal projection analysis

• construct structural and thin-film fluid mesh
• perform modal analysis
• extract desired modes
• select desired modes for damping parameter calculations
• perform harmonic analysis on thin-film elements
• compute modal squeeze stiffness and damping parameters
• compute modal damping ratio and squeeze stiffness coefficient
• display results
173 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Squeeze Film Fluid to define the Squeeze Film Fluid elements
so change the element type and define the Squeeze Film Fluid material
properties.
When a face is selected

this option allows to
either add fluid elements
on top of the selected
ones or to replace them.
174 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Viscous Fluid Link to define the Viscous Fluid Link elements so
change the element type and define the Viscous Fluid Link material
properties.
175 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Use the Slide Film Fluid to define the Slide Film Fluid elements so
change the element type and define the Slide Film Fluid material
properties.
176 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In modal analysis use the Extract Modal Damping Coefficients

to extract modal damping coefficients.
• It invokes DMPEXT ANSYS macro that uses modal projection
techniques to compute the damping force by the modal
velocity of the source mode onto the target mode. From the
damping force, damping parameters are extracted:
• response frequency
• modal damping coefficient
• modal squeeze stiffness coefficient
• damping ratio
• squeeze-to-structural stiffness ratio
177 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In modal analysis use the Extract Rayleigh

Damping to extract alpha-beta damping
multipliers for Rayleigh damping.
• It invokes ABEXTRACT ANSYS macro which calls
the command macro DMPEXT to extract the
damping ratio of MODE1 and MODE2 and then
computes the Alpha and Beta damping
multipliers.
178 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• In harmonic analysis use the Extract Stiffness

And Damping to calculate the equivalent
stiffness and damping of the system.
• The complex pressure distribution can be used
to extract a damping coefficient and a stiffness
coefficient. The phase shift between the
pressure and the velocity is caused by
compression of the fluid. The real pressure
component contributes to the damping of the
system. The imaginary pressure component
contributes to the stiffening of the system.
𝑭𝑹𝒆 𝑭𝑰𝒎
𝑪= 𝑲=
𝒗𝒛 𝒗𝒛
179 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Contacts
180 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Contact Definition
Electric and Thermal-Electric contacts can be used with the

different multiphysics objects as illustrated below:
Contact Supported Body

Electric Piezoelectric Body
Piezoresistive Body
Electrostatic-Structural Body
Thermal-Electric Thermal-Piezoelectric Body
Structural-Thermoelectric Body
Thermal Structural-Thermal Body
181 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Solution Controls
182 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Non Linear Solution Controls
Electric, Thermal and Pressure non linear can be

used with the different multiphysics objects as
illustrated below:
Contact Supported Body

Electric Piezoelectric Body
Piezoresistive Body
Electrostatic-Structural Body
Thermal-Electric Thermal-Piezoelectric Body
Structural-Thermoelectric Body
Thermal Structural-Thermal Body
Pressure Squeeze Film Damping
Viscous Fluid Link
Slide Film Fluid
183 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Structural BCs & Loads
184 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Structural Loads & BC
Structural loads and boundary conditions can be applied as

usual using standard objects:
185 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Thank you
Ansys Inc.
David Roche
David.roche@ansys.com

© 2018 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

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Piezo And MEMS

1 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Copyright and Trademark Information

THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE

2 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Name of the app: Piezo And MEMS

Copyright and Trademark Information

3 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

4 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

• Please pay attention to paragraph 9 of the CLICKWRAP SOFTWARE

• Report any issue or provide feedback related to this app please

5 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Loading the extension:

6 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Installing from the Extensions menu:

Loading the extension:

7 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

A finite element that couples the effects of interrelated

• ANSYS Multiphysics coupled-field elements

PLANE223 SOLID226 SOLID227

9 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

10 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Finite element matrix equation:

K11 K12  X1 F1

Finite element matrix equation:

The coupled effect is accounted for in the dependency of

Piezoresistive weak static, transient symmetric N/A

Electrostatic- static, transient,

Thermal-Electric weak static, transient nonsymmetric N/A

Thermo- static, transient

13 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

14 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

The Piezo & MEMS ACT Extension currently supports:

15 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

16 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Piezoelectrics is coupling between structural and electrical fields

17 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

18 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Generates proportional electric polarization (charge)

Applied in piezoelectric sensors:

19 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Produces proportional displacement when electric voltage

20 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Static analysis used to determine effects of steady-state

21 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Modal analysis used to determine vibration characteristics

22 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

Harmonic analysis used to determine response to

23 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

In a piezoelectric analysis, the structural and quasi-

{T} - stress vector {D} - electric flux density

24 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

26 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

The piezoelectric constitutive equation relating stress {T}

 T1   c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16   S1   e11 e12 e13 

27 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019

c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16 

28 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 2, 2019